Herding Cats

Forecasting Program Performance

Program Performance Management is a core process for any successful business venture that develops products Forecasting cost and schedule performance from Glen Alleman Read more →

The Pseudo Science of No Estimates

I listened to the final rant of Jon Stewart (BIG CAUTION this show is from Cable and for Adults Only, just like Risk Management) and came away with inspiration for a post, which I've edited a bit to remove the... Read more →

Forecasting versus Estimating - are they Different or are they the Same

One of the escape clauses of #Noestimates is to re-label Forecasting as NOT Estimating, It is forecasting, based on empirical data. Ignoring for the moment the empirical data discussion since ALL data is empirical, otherwise you wouldn't have the data.... Read more →

Deliver Fast or Deliver as Planned (Update)

A popular mantra in Agile is deliver fast, deliver often. In some domains this may be applicable. Where we work and where agile is becoming the norm, we have another view. Deliver as planned The Plan for the delivery of... Read more →

The Naive Notion that Agile Mitigates Risk

The post Top 5 Ways Agile Mitigates Risk is one of those posts that's not wrong in what it says at the detail level - more or less, but is not right in principle. Agile Mitigates Risk - is not... Read more →

Find the Root Cause Before Assuming Your Fix Can Actually Fix Anything

A burst of Tweets of No Estimates fixes these problems came across Twitter this morning. I won't repeat who they are attributed to, to protect the guilty. But here's a core concept that is totally missing from not only the... Read more →

Beautiful Example of the Disconnect Between Those who Pay and Those Who Spend

Perhaps Mr. Elliott could provide answers to these questions to our clients, when he suggests that estimates are worthless. When are those working demos being sent to production so the business can start earning back their investment? How many more... Read more →

Estimating is an Everyday Life and Everyday Projects

A recent twitter post started out with I predict my train will depart from platform 12 in 10 minutes: degree of predictability correlates with length of time I then asked and what is the evidence on which you base this... Read more →

Before looking to any solution to a problem, determine the Root Cause

It is common to use the phrase If we feel pain X. Let's explore solutions? & possibly "Solutions A & B might be a starting point?" This approach seeks a solution to the symptom not a solution to the problem... Read more →

Common Ground for a Conversation about Estimating

Neil Killick posted a good question, what's the common ground for talking about estimates. In this post I'd suggest predictability is very difficult to achieve in the presence of uncertainty. And all projects operate in the presence of uncertainty. All... Read more →

Successfully Implementing Change

Two Critical Videos for Agile Transformation. Here's Part 1 Here's Part 2 So when we hear estimates are the smell of Dysfunction - what are the actionable outcomes needed to address these dysfunctions? To date there have been ZERO suggestions.... Read more →

Releases and Deadlines in Agile

Had a Twitter conversation today about deadlines and how to remove the stigma of a deadline and replace it with a more Politically Correct term. Like most Twitter conversations there is a kernel of truth in there somewhere that sparks... Read more →

What is Risk Management?

Risk management is about making informed decisions by consciously assessing what can go wrong, as well as the likelihood and severity of the impact when that possibility comes true. The heart of Risk Management is making informed decisions in the... Read more →